Daylight
by TheWorldInWords
Summary: A Dantana fic based on the song Daylight by Maroon 5.
1. Daylight

"Can I come over? I miss you."

Santana couldn't help but smile at the confession even though she knew the other girl couldn't see it. "Of course, baby. You can always come over, you know that. I miss you too."

"Rach and Kurt have the graveyard shift tonight, right?" Dani asked wanting to make sure she'd be alone with her girlfriend.

The Latina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a result of the question. "Wanky. Yeah they do."

Dani laughed at the girl's dirty mind. "No not like that Santana, geeze. I'll just see you when I get there you dork."

"Okay fine," Santana dragged out the last word. "See you soon." She hung up and went back to reading her magazine.

_**Here I am waiting**_

_**I'll have to leave soon**_

_**Why am I holding on?**_

Santana heard a knock on the door and jumped up. She knew who it was otherwise she would've yelled for them to leave her to enjoy her night off work. She reached the door and turned the knob just as she heard another knock coming from the other side. "Damn, impatient much?" She said after opening the door to see her girlfriend waiting there.

"Sorry I just can't help it if I miss my beautiful girlfriend." Dani said putting emphasis on 'beautiful' as she stepped forward wrapping her arms around the taller girl's neck.

"You're such a suck up," Santana teased, "What do you want?"

The blonde leaned up and pecked Santana's lips. "I want to spend time with you. Can we watch a movie?"

"As long as I gets me my Dani cuddles we can." She turned and led the shorter girl to the couch after shutting the door.

"You're so adorable." Dani replied and went to pick out a movie.

The darker Latina shook her head and immediately protested. "I'm Santana Lopez, I don't do adorable."

"Oh really? Then what do you call this necklace around my neck that you have the other half to?" Dani said referring to the half a heart necklace she had been given for Christmas.

Santana's eyes widened at the sass coming from her girlfriend. "U-uh…" she hesitated giving the lighter girl a chance to jump in.

Dani pulled her gaze from the movie now in her hands to look at the girl sitting on the couch. "That's what I thought. You can be adorable."

_**We knew this day would come**_

_**We knew it all along**_

_**How did it come so fast?**_

They decided to watch _Pitch Perfect_, a movie they'd both seen many times before. It was Santana's favorite because of the quiet yet sassy Asian girl who reminded her of Tina back in Lima, and Dani's because of her deep rooted passion for music. The two were curled up on the couch; Santana lying with her back against the couch and the shorter girl lying against her. Her head rested on the top of Dani's as they watched the Riff-off scene. Dani usually sang along, she knew every word and _loved_ proving it to her girlfriend every time they watched together. But tonight not a note was leaving her lips.

"Hey Dani?" Santana lifted her head slightly so the girl could turn around but she didn't move.

"Yeah?"

The darker Latina placed her hand softly on the side of her face and coaxed her to meet her gaze. "Look at me," she said in a gentle tone. Dani finally turned in the girl's arms and looked up at her. She didn't say a word and waited for Santana to talk. There was a brief instant of silence before she continued. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" Dani smiled as big as she could but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and Santana noticed.

She ignored the answer and pressed on searching her caramel brown eyes. "What's wrong? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Dani sighed knowing that she couldn't keep it from her for much longer. Santana could read her. She knew her front to back, back to front. "I got an offer for a record deal this morning," she trailed off not wanting to finish the thought.

"Baby, that's great! You've always wanted to be an artist!" Santana's voice bounced with excitement. "I mean I'm sure Kurt will be sad you're leaving the band but that's awesome! I knew you could do it!" She was about to continue when she saw the girl not celebrating with her, not even smiling. Instead of seeing a mirror of her own joy in Dani's face she saw tears threatening to spill out. "Babe what's wrong? I thought you wanted this."

"No, no I do want this," Dani said shaking her head. "It's what I've always dreamed of doing," she trailed off again not knowing how to say it.

"But?"

"But…the record deal is in LA…" she said softly and dropped her eyes to the girl's neck. "I'd have to fly out to LA by the end of the week."

_**This is our last night but it's late**_

_**And I'm trying not to sleep**_

_**Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away**_

_**And when the daylight comes I'll have to go**_

_**But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close**_

_**Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own**_

_**But tonight I need to hold you so close**_

Dani sat next to Santana with her legs crossed under her. She had poured all the details out for the past hour and so far she'd been able to keep her emotions at bay. Keeping the tears from falling was exhausting, almost as exhausting as if she were to let herself cry. But she could feel her eyes getting heavier as she sat in silence next to the darker Latina. The girl still hadn't said a word since Dani had finished explaining everything.

The lighter Latina pulled the blanket over her legs and leaned against the headboard. She was thankful they had decided to talk in Santana's bedroom because the loft was getting colder as the sun dipped lower under the horizon.

Santana watched out of the corner of her eye as her girlfriend shifted under the blanket. She had no words to reply to the information she had just been given. It was all so much at once, but she knew she would worry Dani if she didn't say something soon. "Can we just…not think about it until tomorrow? I'm really tired," she trailed off finally raising her head to look at the girl next to her.

"I am too, honestly," Dani replied softly and moved herself down to lay on the bed.

The brunette did the same and turned to face Dani. She saw that the girl was facing the other direction and tapped her on the shoulder. "Lay with me?" She asked swallowing her pride.

Dani rolled over to see Santana looking at her with sad eyes masked with an unsure smile. "Of course, San," she replied with a kind smile and allowed the girl to pull her in close. She rested her head on Santana's chest and listened to her heart beat.

_**Here I am staring at your perfection**_

_**In my arms, so beautiful**_

_**The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out**_

_**Somebody slow it down**_

_**This is way too hard, cause I know**_

_**When the sun comes up, I will leave**_

_**This is my last glance that will soon be memory**_

They had been lying pressed together for what felt like hours but Santana still couldn't sleep. Too much was going through her mind. She wondered what would happen, what she could do, how much it would hurt…but it all faded into the background when she looked down past the mess of blonde hair.

Dani's roots were starting to grow out so Santana could see the dark hair that mixed with the bleach blonde. She moved her gaze further down to the girl's eyes. Although they were shut, she could picture the gorgeous brown eyes swirled with caramel. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Santana then looked down to the lips she had come to love kissing. They were always soft and made her feel loved in the most unique way. She shifted slowly under the girl's weight in order to see her better. She couldn't help but stare at the girl she had fallen so quickly in love with.

She loved everything about Dani. Even the things she didn't like, she loved. Her imperfections made her absolutely perfect to Santana. She could watch her sleep like this every day and never get tired of her beauty. She felt the lighter Latina move and pulled her in closer, bringing her out of her thoughts. Dani snuggled her head right into Santana's neck and fell back into her deep sleep. After a few minutes the dark-haired girl felt herself drifting off to sleep, the warm breath on her neck soothing her worries.

_**And when the daylight comes I'll have to go**_

_**But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close**_

_**Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own**_

_**But tonight I need to hold you so close**_

_**I never want it to stop**_

_**Because I don't wanna start all over**_

_**Start all over**_

_**I was afraid of the dark**_

_**But now it's all that I want**_

_**All that I want, all that I want**_

Dani opened her eyes gradually as she adjusted to the light coming from the half risen sun. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it read 5:17. _5:17 in the morning? What am I doing up? _Dani thought to herself. She lifted her head and saw Santana's lying just above hers on the pillow. She snuggled in closer to the girl's body and pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

She was still tired and wanted to fall back asleep but her mind wouldn't let her. Thoughts were bouncing through her head as she curled in closer to Santana. Had the girl been awake she would've held her tightly and brushed her fingers through her blonde hair until she relaxed. Knowing she didn't want to wake Santana up she decided to get a drink of water instead.

After prying herself from the darker Latina's arms, she walked quietly to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets. Her mind was still racing but now was more focused on one thing rather than the others. She hadn't been in a very good place when she met Santana. Her family had just kicked her out and she was scared, terrified almost, to tell anyone that she was gay. She didn't want to start any relationship after what happened in the basement that day. She was scared that it would turn out the same way; the girl running in fear and her being left with the broken heart. In coming to New York she knew she couldn't handle trusting anyone like she had trusted in the past. She put on a confident front so that no one bothered her and hid behind her walls. She lifted the water-filled glass to her lips and let her thoughts run on. Santana, she gave Dani space and time to become comfortable with trusting someone. She didn't rush anything in their friendship and when it grew to be more than that, she didn't rush that either. She had been gentle…caring…loving. Dani had gotten so used to trusting her that it felt impossible to let her go. Her routine included Santana in it so frequently that she couldn't imagine living any other way. She didn't want to start all over again. Santana had made it so easy and so fun to start a new life. And now she was going to have to do it on her own, without Santana.

Dani shook her head and downed the rest of the water. She needed to go back to sleep before her thoughts went too far. She wanted to savor this time with the girl who taught her how to love again. She needed to feel safe for just a little bit longer.

_**And when the daylight comes I'll have to go**_

_**But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close**_

_**Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own**_

_**But tonight I need to hold you so close**_

"I could come with you, Dani." Santana's words had a slight edge to them.

The blonde turned away and leaned against the counter. "No you can't, Santana. You've built a life here. Who am I to force you to start all over across the country?" Her voice rose as the frustration inside her boiled. She didn't want to leave Santana. In fact, it was the last thing she wanted to do; but she wanted the girl to be happy and she knew that being here, in New York with her friends, did that for her.

The dark-haired girl placed her hand on Dani's shoulder trying to get her to look her in the eye. "You're my girlfriend. You're the person I go to when someone pisses me off." As the soft-spoken words fell from her lips, the blonde slowly turned around. "You're my blanket on cold nights. You're my bodyguard when things get out of hand. You're my comfort when I'm upset. You're my…my everything." The last word barely slipped out just under her breath but loud enough for the other girl to hear it.

"Do you think this is easy for me? You're my everything, too." Dani shut her eyes trying to keep the tears from falling and hugged her torso with crossed arms. "I have to choose between the woman I love and the dream I've spent my whole life trying to reach. Do you know how hard that is? I spent all fucking day yesterday going back and forth between taking the deal or not." Her words shot out as she forced the tears into frustration once again.

"I'm not giving you a choice, Danielle." Santana could feel her temper rising and watched the girl cringe at the mention of her full name. "You're going to LA. You're not allowed to let me be what holds you back from your dream. I'm not letting that happen." She crossed her arms over her stomach and leaned against the counter, her gaze narrowing as it met Dani's.

"You don't get to make that decision for me. I can't just leave you." Her façade melted as she choked out the last sentence. "I can't leave you." She repeated, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Santana's anger immediately disappeared at the sight of her girlfriend crying. She closed the space between them and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, D," she said rubbing small circles on the girl's back as she cried into her shoulder. "It'll be okay." They stood there without a word from either girl until Dani finally mustered up the strength to pull away.

"How's it going to be okay?" Dani mumbled, her voice cracking as more tears fell. She watched the girl before her open then close her mouth several times trying to find the words to answer. "Exactly…" she trailed off and started to walk towards the bedroom.

Santana watched Dani walk back into the room they had shared for the past few months. _How was it going to be okay? _She stood there while her mind raced trying to find an answer. Minutes passed and she didn't move. She was determined to find a way to be with the woman she had fallen so hard for while she lived out her dream. And that's when it dawned on her. Maybe loving someone isn't about being with them constantly. Maybe it isn't about being by their side and spending energy on them. Maybe loving someone is about wanting their happiness more than wanting yours. Maybe it's about seeing their smile and just the sight of it heals you. It wasn't going to happen. They weren't going to be okay. She needed Dani to be happy if she had any hope of being happy. And the only way that was going to happen was if she was living her dream.

_**And when the daylight comes I'll have to go**_

_**But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close**_

_**Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own**_

_**But tonight I need to hold you so close**_

Santana slowly pushed open the bedroom door. She felt her heart shatter when she saw Dani sitting on the edge of the bed sobbing into her hands. She took soft steps forward and kneeled in front of the blonde. She didn't react so Santana cupped her face with her hands and brought her head up to lock their gaze. "Listen to me, okay?" She paused until Dani nodded slightly. "I love you. I want nothing more than to be with you because you make me so happy." Her words didn't falter once as she spoke, her eyes never leaving the one's before her. "But I want you to be happy, too. And before you say you are happy, keep listening. I want you to be happy doing the thing you've always loved. Music inspires you and I can tell it's helped make you the amazing person you are today. I can't imagine you being happy knowing you had the opportunity to do this and turned it down." By this time Dani's hands covered the darker pair that was still on her cheeks as tears rolled down silently. "So I'm making you go. You're going to call them back and tell them you can be in LA by the end of the week."

Dani shook her head with the tiniest movement and shut her eyes willing the tears to stop before she completely broke down again. "I-I can't, San," she whimpered. She continued with her eyes still shut, "You do make me happy, happier than I've been in a long time. But you're right…I can't let this chance go." She slowly opened her eyes and was met with Santana's gaze. "I love you too but I have to go."

The Latina nodded with a bittersweet feeling in her heart. She was glad the girl had finally agreed to go live out her dream, but sad that meant she would have to leave. She moved her thumbs to brush away Dani's tears then ran her hands down to grab the other girl's. She stood up and pulled the shorter girl to her feet as well. "I'll wait for you, Dani. Just because we'll live 2,000 miles apart doesn't mean I'll love you any less. I can always fly and visit! And when you go on tour or whatever I can take off work to help you and see what it's all like!" She said, the light returning to her eyes.

"No, Santana. If you aren't giving me a choice, I'm not giving you one either. I'm not going to hold you back just like you say you don't want to do that to me. Go live your life, S." She squeezed the darker girl's hands before dropping them and turning towards the bedroom door. "If we're really meant to be then we'll find a way back." She hesitated not wanting the words to leave her mouth, "We're over." She slammed her eyes shut stopping the tears temporarily. The blonde urged herself to keep moving in the direction of the door but could only manage a small step before she felt herself being tugged backward.

She spun in the process and felt Santana's lips crash against hers. They moved in perfect timing together like they always had. She felt the taller girl's hands snake around her waist effectively pulling her closer. She allowed one hand to move to Santana's cheek while the other curled around her neck to deepen the kiss. Finally, Santana pulled away, knowing that she had to let the girl go now before she had enough time to regret her decision.

"Now…" she whispered just loud enough for Dani to hear her, "now we're over." She watched as the shorter girl's face washed over with understanding.

Dani then turned back toward the door and walked through it for the last time for a while. She fought not to glance back at Santana but her heart won and she flashed a sad smile over her shoulder that the girl threw right back. After she heard the door to the apartment shut behind her she put her hand over the necklace she still wore and held it against her heart.

Santana didn't want to see her leave. She wanted to pull her back into her arms where she knew the girl was safe. But she had to let her go. She raised her hand from her lap and held it against the necklace she wore. _"You'll always have the other half to my heart," _she thought, "_just like I have the other half to yours."_ All she had left to do, as the tears started to fall once more, was hope she would see the person she loves again one day.

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><p><strong>Thank you guys so much for the comments on this omg I didn't expect them. I know this was really sad and I cried writing it but I've written happier Dantana that I'll post and if you guys have any ideasprompts message me here or on tumblr (stay-strong-smile-forever) I can't tell you how much all the comments and likes mean to me, thank youuuuuu:)**


	2. Daylight Sequel

**Soooooo..as a few of you commented saying you wanted me to, I wrote a sequel to this. I can't thank you all enough for the feedback it means the world to me and gave me the entire idea for this sequel. I've been really busy lately between basketball, exam week and all that fun stuff so I'm sorry this took so long. I may or may not be also writing a full length Dantana fanfic *wink* *wink* ((so that's been taking some time too even though I'm barely past the second chapter)). This is ****_PART ONE_******** of two for the sequel and I hope you like it!:) Thanks again for all the comments and reviews!**

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><p>Santana walked down the sidewalk towards the coffee shop. Ever since Dani had moved and Rachel's Broadway career took off, she didn't enjoy working at the Spotlight Diner as much as she used to. Her apartment was only five blocks from the shop and the weather was nice today. It was never too busy since she had to be at work at 6:30 for the morning rush, but today was different. Just across the street, about a quarter of a block from where she stood was a group of what looked like teenagers. They all huddled around the entrance to a hotel. She kept walking down her side of the street so that she could get a better look. That's when she saw the cause of the screaming kids. It was Dani.<p>

She slowed her pace and watched the girl being led from the hotel door to the car that was on the street waiting for her. Just before she saw the blonde get in her car, the girl lifted her head. Their eyes met for a split second then the girl climbed in the car and off it sped. _Had Dani recognized her?_ The thought ran through her head. She considered the possibility then shook her head to herself as if clearing it from her mind. Dani couldn't have recognized her. It's been four years since they've seen each other; since Dani left that night to chase her dreams. Santana pushed the idea of her ex-girlfriend to the back of her head and continued down the two blocks she had left.

Once she made it through the door and inhaled the stale scent of coffee grounds and whipped cream, her mind switched into work mode. She quickly walked back to her office and put her jacket and purse down. Since the time she had been here, she was promoted from cashier all the way to store manager. She had a small office where she had to fill out production reports and occasionally employee evaluations. It wasn't the best job but it paid her bills and she hadn't killed anyone, yet. She looked at the stack of papers calling her name but turned and walked towards the bar. Maybe she would yell at some of the workers for slacking off.

"Sarah! Stop talking to your boyfriend and get to work. He can wait till the end of your shift." Santana shouted at the strawberry blonde. The girl shot her boyfriend a look then hurried back to behind the register.

"Sorry Santana," she mumbled under her breath.

The Latina smiled to herself proudly and returned to her office to look over some of the paperwork since the deadline for most of it was the end of the week.

After an hour of aimlessly trying to focus on fine print and numbers she got up to check on the shop. As she walked out into the open room she saw Sarah was back sitting with her boyfriend and rolled her eyes at them. The café was relatively empty so she couldn't find it in her to scare the girl twice and stepped behind the counter to talk to the other employee on this shift. His name was Dylan and today was his first day. His application said that he has experience but Santana wanted to check him out anyway. She always liked to instill a little fear on the first day to keep everyone in line.

"Hi Derek," she directed at the guy coldly.

He looked up from the crossword he was doing in the newspaper. "Um," he hesitated, "it's Dylan, ma'am."

Santana laughed to herself softly. "I know your name. I was making sure you were paying attention." She saw his shoulders relax slightly as she continued. "And don't call me ma'am please, it makes me feel old."

"Oh…sorry, of course. It won't happen again uh—"

"Santana, my name's Santana." She interrupted him in an attempt to help but the words slipped out a little harsher than she meant.

Dylan looked down at the newspaper then back up at the Latina with fake confidence. "It's nice to meet you Santana." He stretched his hand out and was relieved when she accepted it and they shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you too, Dylan. But when it starts to pick up in here I better not see you trying to figure out that dumbass word maze, you understand?" The brunette watched as fear washed over his face as she caught him off guard.

"Santana stop terrorizing the poor kid."

Santana heard the familiar raspy voice and spun around. As she caught sight of the light hair she breathed the shocked words out, "Dani?"

The blonde smiled at her then moved her gaze to the still scared guy next to her. "Don't let her scare you. She doesn't really mean it." He shot her a thankful look and practically ran back into the break room. She turned her attention back to the Latina who was still in shock. "Hey, are you gonna give me what I came here for or just stand there." She snapped her fingers and waved her hand in front of the girl while laughing.

"Why are you here actually? This is like the least known coffee shop in this area." Santana was still shocked to see her but tried to come off as calm and confident as possible. After all this time she could feel the faint butterflies in the pit of her stomach just from hearing the girl's voice. She quickly looked the girl up and down. She missed seeing her bottle blonde hair and bright smile. She caught a glimpse of a silver chain around the girl's neck but it was tucked into her shirt.

Dani found herself smiling at the Latina in front of her and swallowed the knot beginning to form in her throat. "Well that would be the point wouldn't it?" She paused before deciding to continue her thought, "I know you saw what happened this morning so I'm kind of trying to lay low."

Santana smiled and leaned on the counter behind her. "You recognized me?"

"I'd never forget that bod—hair of yours," she caught herself and blushed.

Santana heard her stutter and bit her lip to hold her laugh in. She didn't want to embarrass her the first time they talked in four years. "So what is it that you're really here for because I know you didn't come to talk to me." She switched the topic as subtly as possible.

_If I knew you'd be here I would've come for you, _the thought ran through her head before she had a chance to stop it. She pushed it to the back of her mind and answered Santana's question. "A salted caramel macchiato would be great honestly but I've already had like two this morning…so um hot chocolate?" She moved from in front of the register to a barstool around the corner.

Santana turned and started making the drink. "French Vanilla Hot Chocolate with extra whipped cream and marshmallows on top like you used to order it or just hot chocolate?" She asked without lifting her head to see the girl's reaction.

The blonde's face lit up hearing the girl remembered her order from so long ago. Santana never cared to remember much detail about anyone but she made sure to remember everything about her. "Like I used to," she said her words falling with a softer tone than before.

The darker Latina looked up from the machine and threw a smile at Dani only to see one matching her own. It felt like they hadn't skipped a beat.

Santana finished making the drink and walked around the counter to sit next to the lighter Latina. "What brings you to New York anyway miss superstar?"

Dani giggled at how Santana was teasing her then shot her a soft glare. "I'm not a superstar."

The taller girl interrupted her, "Those screaming girls earlier would have to disagree with you."

"Shut up." She playfully punched the brunette in the arm. "And if you must know, I had interviews this morning here and I'm performing a mini concert before I fly back." The girl took a sip of her hot chocolate then looked up at Santana.

She tilted her head in astonishment, "A concert? Where are you having it?"

"In Central Park actually. They're fencing it off and only letting like 300 people in." Dani noticed the scoff that came from the other girl and laughed softly. She continued before she had the chance to stop herself. "Do you want to come? It should be really fun. I-I can even get you backstage if you want," she trailed off unsure of how Santana would take the offer.

Santana was quiet as she thought about her options. She could go to the concert and see how hard Dani's worked and risk falling quickly back in love with the light in her eyes and the smile in her voice, or, she could turn the offer down and be stuck forever wondering what could've been. She caught herself deep in thought and shot out an answer before Dani started to worry. "I'm stuck here making sure these losers don't mess anything up for a few more hours, then Kurt wanted me to hang out with him and Berry but I'll try to make it. Either way I'm sure you'll do great."

The blonde smiled and stood up, "Well I have to go do prep and sound check now but the concert starts at 7." She took a step towards the door then spun back. "It was nice seeing you Santana," she said with a smile.

"You too, Dani."

Dani walked out to the car that was waiting for her on the street. Although she wished she could drive around New York City alone like she used to, she knew she didn't want to handle screaming fans and paparazzi on her own. She quickly slid into the car and told her bodyguard she was ready to set up sound check. Once the car engine started, she felt it all hit her. She had just talked to Santana for the first time since that night four years ago. She didn't expect to see the Latina on this trip to New York but what was pulling at her the most was that she definitely didn't expect to feel this way after seeing her. Four years. It had been four years and the brunette still made her heart jump just at the sight of her. Dani knew she had never really moved on and her songs proved that but not once did she think the girl would still have such control over her emotions. She turned her head to look out the window hoping the thoughts would stop bouncing through her mind. They were almost at Central Park, she recognized, and already a small crowd had formed.

"Miss Harper?" The boydguard's deep, smooth voice brought her out of her head.

She moved to look at him through the mirror. "Yes, John?"

"I can't park the car near where the trailer is because of the people so just stay in the car until I open the door for you, okay?" His voice stayed calm and steady assuring her it would be fine and nothing dramatic would happen.

Although she loved her fans more than anything, she wasn't accustomed to the shoving and shouting yet. She watched as the car pulled to the side of the road and the fans migrated to the sidewalk directly next to her door. The loud voices were muffled but could still be heard through the barrier between them. John walked around the back of the car and slid his way through to pull the handle. The second the barrier was broken, screams flooded Dani's hearing. She put on a smile and reached out for John's outstretched hand. He pulled her to her feet and put his arm around her holding her close. She paused briefly to sign a few papers then rushed towards the stage.

Once they were past security and free from the crowd the two separated. "Are you okay, Miss Harper?"

Dani nodded and laughed softly to herself. "Yes, I'm fine. Now when are you gonna stop calling me that and call me Dani like I've told you to so many times?"

He chuckled to himself before replying, "Sorry, it's just a habit. Anyways, I'll see you after sound check. You know where to find me if you need me, Dani." He emphasized her name then walked off in the direction of the stage. He had to go let some of her fans in for sound check and also stand by the stage while she performed just in case someone did something crazy.

"See ya!" She yelled after him and turned to walk backstage. Here she was met by all the crew members. "Hey guys, you ready to put on an awesome show tonight?"

"Sure are, Miss Harper!" The man that was handing her in-ears to her said. He was the most enthusiastic of them all as she heard mumbled responses and faked comments from the others.

"Hey, look who's actually on time for once." She heard come from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at the face she saw. "Sam!" She turned and wrapped her arms around the girl. "How's my favorite manager today?" The words leaving her lips a little too sweet for the brunette's liking.

"Don't suck up to me , missy. Just get ready for your sound check and then we can get on with this show."

"Right on it boss," Dani said with a smile. She loved messing with her team. Not only did she prank them sometimes but solely the everyday banter between them gave her something to look forward to. The job was exciting, but doing the same shows and set lists for the most part could get a little tiring. The blonde finished her part in setting up the equipment and waited for her cue to go on stage. The band all walked from backstage to go set up and waved to her on the way.

A few short minutes later she walked out onstage and smiled to the fans waiting for her. The band started playing behind her and the crowd recognized the song immediately. Dani ran around the stage singing and touching as many hands as she could. The feeling of performing would never get old. It gave her this unmatchable rush of adrenaline that she loved. The fans knew every word to her songs and being able to see them in person only made it that much more real. She was living her dream. This is what she had wanted from as far back as she could remember. Caught up in the feeling, she realized the song had already ended and another one had passed. They were only going to play five songs so she shook her head and reminded herself to give singing her full attention. Her fans deserved that and so much more for supporting her so quickly. She grabbed her guitar and clipped the microphone into the stand. She started to strum a tune that received a groups of screams in response. Dani opened her mouth and let the words fall, "_Our love runs deep like a chevy…"_

The song ended and the one after that flew by. Before she knew it, it was time for Dani to go shower and get dressed and ready for the concert. She thanked everyone for coming and told them she hoped to see them later. She ran off stage and bumped into Sam.

"Oh shit, sorry Sam!" Her face washed over with concern and a hint of fear.

"Its fine Dani don't worry about it. Go grab a shower and get into hair and make-up."

The concerned frown was replaced with a smile. "Alright Samantha, I'm going no need to tell me twice," she teased and bobbed away. She had about two hours before the show started but knowing her hair and make-up people, that was just enough time. Dani remembered Sam teasing her earlier about always being late so this time she wanted to prove her wrong. On top of that, there was the chance of Santana coming. And although she had nothing to prove to the Latina, she wanted to make a good impression after such a long time.


	3. Daylight Sequel Part Two

**Okay so I'm sorry for how long this has taken but here's the second part to the sequelll:) I hit a writer's block for a couple weeks but hopefully it turned out well enough. Tell me if you want a sequel to this and I'll think about it;)**

* * *

><p>As Dani ran through her vocal warm-ups she couldn't keep the butterflies in her stomach away. She was usually nervous for shows because she always wanted to put on a good performance for her fans, but today was different. Her voice faltering on a note brought her out of her thoughts. "Ugh," she groaned out loud frustrated with how she was letting her mind get the best of her.<p>

"What's wrong over here blondie?" Samantha had crept up behind her.

Dani glanced up to meet the woman's eyes then dropped her head again. "I-I," she hesitated contemplating telling her manager, "I saw Santana this morning. She works at the coffee shop John and I went to earlier on the way here." She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.

"I thought we were past this, Dani. I thought you had moved on. Does she know about your concert tonight?" Sam nodded towards the girl willing her to lift her head.

"I don't think I ever moved on," the shorter girl mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

Dani's gaze rose to look her manager in the eyes. "I said, yes she does. I invited her." She corrected herself not wanting the woman to know what she actually said.

"Why's seeing her causing you to not hit your notes in warm-ups? She's not even here yet girl. What're you gonna do if she does show up and you're on stage?" The brunette stepped closer resting her hand on the girl's shoulder trying to comfort her.

Again Dani's eyes locked on the ground in front of her. "I don't know Sam. I'm so nervous to see her not because I want to impress her necessarily," she paused, "she's already heard me sing. I just can't shake what I'm feeling from talking to her. I don't know what—"

"You're gonna do when you perform the songs about her?" The manager interrupted. She knew Dani well enough and after having countless conversations about her relationship with Santana, she caught onto the fact that the certain Latina was the muse for most of her songs. Although Dani had short flings here and there, it had always come back to her. This was a silent understanding between the singer and Sam and neither pushed the subject often.

Dani's eyes widened and her head snapped up in shock. "How'd you—um…yeah." The girl decided not to question it. "Like what if I forget the words because she's there? It's been four years, what the hell is wrong with me?"

Samantha simply shook her head and gave the girl a brief but warm hug. "You need to get back to warming up that voice of yours. The concert starts in 30 minutes and you need to go get your hair done still. You're gonna be late…as usual."

"I can sing while they do my hair stop worrying so much." Her smile shone through as she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.

"That's what you pay me to do, sweetheart." The brunette laughed with Dani at the last comment before walking away to leave her alone.

Dani walked in the direction of her room backstage and sung the entire way. When she sat down in the chair the woman started to brush through her blonde hair. She knew not to talk to the singer during warm-ups or this close to before the show in general. The sounds coming from Dani were a mixture of words and vowels and sounds she couldn't make into any recognizable letter. As Dani sat there, she ran through her routine thoughtlessly. She had it down which allowed her mind to wander without missing a beat. She wanted Santana to see how much fun she was having being a singer. Where did all her confidence from earlier go? _I can do this. Just pretend she's not here. She probably won't be anyway she's busy tonight. Stop worrying over nothing, _Dani thought. She wanted to show her she had a good reason for leaving her all those years ago. It was worth it…wasn't it?

"Dani! Show starts in five!" She heard Samantha yell from behind the closed door.

She looked over her shoulder to the woman touching up her hair and received a nod telling her it was okay to get up. She opened the door quickly and walked down the hallway to the opening backstage. Sam was standing there with the rest of her team, people rushing back and forth double and triple checking equipment. Dani watched as they raced past each other and laughed to herself. The crazy work that went into these shows was beyond her and she still wasn't used to it after all these years. All she had to do was go out there and sing while everyone else backstage made sure it ran as smoothly as possible. As time passed, she made her way to the spot directly next to the stage.

"You ready for this?" The man who handed her the in-ears earlier asked her.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He smiled and motioned toward the stage. "Well then go out there and kill it. You're up."

She looked back to the stage in front of her and took a deep breath before jogging out to the front. The screams and shouts erupted at the sight of the blonde. Dani quickly scanned the audience with a bright smile on her face, then turned back to her band and gave them the signal. The electric guitar started to strum and the noise around the stage rose. "_What did I do to deserve this? Tell me the truth and don't lie_," the words slipped off Dani's tongue as she grabbed the microphone in front of her and pulled it off the stand.

Santana walked through the field of grass toward the blaring noise. As she got there she heard Dani's voice lost in the words of her song. _You know that this town is just too small and I'm too tall to take this, again._ She walked through security and stayed behind the crowd of kids to watch from a distance. She knew Rachel and Kurt would be frustrated with her for blowing them off again but she could explain why later. The Latina shook off the thought and focused solely on the girl performing. The energy in her motions and voice was breathtaking. She had heard Dani sing before and knew she had talent but the amount of work she put into her voice over the years was very evident.

Dani had gone through three upbeat songs since the opening number and she was high on adrenaline rush. She loved being so close to her fans and being on that stage just gave her life. The next one was going to be a slower song that most her fans loved. They could all relate to the heartbreak and pain in the lyrics. The song, of course, was one of the ones Samantha had been referring to before the show. She took a deep breath while sitting on the stool they had brought out for it, and allowed the words to drop from her lips. _It's probably what's best for you, I only want the best for you, and if I'm not the best then you're stuck._

The fans Dani could see in the front all knew the lyrics and were singing them with her. She could see a few sad smiles and a couple girls were crying. The tears always caught her off guard; she never thought that her music could evoke such emotion from people. As she reached the chorus the second time around, everyone was singing along. Scanning the crowd, her eyes landed on a fateful Latina's figure.

Her breath caught in her throat seeing Santana at the back of everyone. She held the microphone to the audience and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Gathering back her courage, she sang the last line; _you never really can fix my heart._

Santana clapped with the rest of the crowd but felt her heart crack at the shaky sound of Dani's voice. It sounded faint and insecure as she almost whispered out the final line to the song. With the exception of that song, the rest made the singer sound happy and on top of the world, but the Latina knew there was more behind it. That one song was only just an insight.

The blonde turned to her band and looked towards Zach, her drummer. She mouthed a song name to him that drew a shocked expression from him.

"Do you really wanna do that one?" He attempted to yell over the speculating fans.

She didn't hear him but picked up on the movement of his lips and nodded. Her chest tightened with nervousness but she wanted to sing the song tonight. After not singing live or releasing it, she felt it was finally the right time. Zach turned to the guitarist on his right and mouthed the song name to him. They had run through it a lot when Dani was in the process of writing it and just after she finished just for fun.

_You got this,_ Zach mouthed to the short Latina and raised his hand to give her a thumbs up. With that, she turned around and addressed the audience.

"This is a song you don't know but I hope you like it." Dani didn't drag the intro out because she knew if she did then she'd never have the courage to actually sing it. Her guitarist ran back stage and handed her an acoustic guitar so she could play along before returning to his spot. After the cheering died down, she slung the strap over her head and nodded to Zach and he began the song.

**Couple of lovebirds kissing on the corner**

**Couldn't help but remind me of you**

**Halfway through dialing your number**

**You know it's true, I wanted to.**

She felt the confidence in her voice slowly seeping through as she kept the tempo. She moved her gaze that was locked on the floor around the room, seeing how many people were watching her.

**Took a stroll down Sunset Boulevard**

**Heard an old man singing the blues**

**Halfway through writing you a love song**

**You know it's true, I wanted to.**

The blonde gently slung her guitar around to her back. She held her hands up to signal to her audience when to clap with the beat and continued singing.

**Sunrise on the east side**

**Want to wake up next to you**

**But I'm dreaming on the west side**

**Trying to find my way to you.**

She quickly glanced backstage only to find Samantha beaming back at her. They had talked about this song one too many times. Her manager knew the real meaning behind the contrast of the east coast and west coast, while the members of the audience remained blissfully clueless. Well, all the members but one.

**Tell me you want me**

**Speechless and I'm shaking**

**Tell me you need me**

**You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness**

**You are my weakness and you get me every time**

**Tired of flipping through the channels on the TV**

**Nothing on could shake you out of my mind**

**So I grab my coat and I'm out the door**

**I'm just killing time till you're by my side**

**Too many places get in the way of bringing you back into view**

Dani turned slightly and nodded for her guitarist to come over. She bounced to meet him and started singing and dancing in front of him, causing the man to laugh, then skipped to the other side of the stage..

**Sunrise on the east side**

**Want to wake up next to you**

**But I'm dreaming on the west side**

**Trying to find my way to you.**

Before beginning the chorus again, she looked over to where she saw Santana previously in the crowd of people. She searched for a couple seconds then found the brunette and locked their eyes.

**Tell me you want me**

**Speechless and I'm shaking**

**Tell me you need me**

**You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness**

**You are my weakness and you get me every time**

She never took her eyes off the Latina and smiled knowing the verse that was about to come up. She moved to the closest part of the stage to the other girl and continued.

**Caught in the middle of the storm, you are my shelter**

**When all that I see is black and white, you are the color**

**Nothing can stop me, no distance too great to cover**

**All I want to hear you say**

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She looked down at her fingers to switch chords and slowly dragged her eyes back up to meet the brown pair in front of her.

**Tell me you want me**

**Speechless and I'm shaking**

**Tell me you need me**

**You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness**

Dani slowly walked back to the center of the stage, breaking their gaze, and the tension she could feel between them.

**You are my weakness**

**You are my weakness**

**Yes, you are my weakness and you get me every time.**

Dani ran backstage before her last song and whispered something in Samantha's ear. Then she jogged back on stage and nodded to Zach signaling for him to start the Neon Lights. She always loved to end her shows with upbeat songs because she felt like she was leaving her fans pumped up and happy. They all got really into it too so Dani walked closer to the edge and followed it high-fiving fans as she went. The blonde held out the microphone for the last chorus and pulled out her in-ears. She loved to hear her fans sing the words with her. It made her feel more connected with them on a much more personal level. With a smile beaming across her face, she brought the microphone back to her lips to sing the last few words, _be still my heart cause it's freakin out_.

For the first time all night she heard the screams full force and waited for them to die down before talking. "Thank you all for coming tonight! I'm so glad I got to do this show while I was here in New York. I love you guys!" She waved to them then turned to go backstage. Samantha complimented her on a good show and mumbled something about not messing up any of the words which made Dani giggle.

The familiar sound caught Santana's ear and she spun on her heels to face the direction of it. "Dani, what on Earth are you laughing about? And why am I back here exactly?"

The shorter girl smiled and walked closer so they wouldn't have to shout. "You're here because I wanted to know what you thought about my show. And it was just something my manager said."

Santana's smile faltered slightly but only for a second. "Oh, she's that funny, huh?" She teased.

"We just like messing with each other that's all. I tease my whole team. She's just the person who gets it most because of how much she's helped me over the years with stuff."

"Stuff?"

Dani bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes to the ground remembering the time right after she met Samantha and how much the woman helped her through her break up. "You never told me what you thought about the show," she said with a faked confidence as she decided to brush off the Latina's questioning. Nothing had happened or would ever happen between Dani and her manager and she wanted to assure Santana of that for some reason. But she had no need to. They weren't in a relationship; she didn't need to explain it.

Santana allowed the subject to be dropped seeing the pain flash through the girl's caramel eyes. "It was incredible, honestly. I've never seen a singer as comfortable on that stage as you. You looked at home just like you always have. This time the crowd was just a lot bigger."

Dani smiled at how loving the girl was being with her. She knew that Santana wasn't like this with most people, but she always had been with her. "Did you recognize any of the songs?"

"I thought I was just making things up in my head!" Santana laughed at herself drawing a giggle out of the girl in front of her. "The first one I knew you wrote before we met but there were a few others I thought sounded familiar."

The nervousness in Dani's stomach grew stronger at the sound of the laugh coming from the girl she fell in love with and that she remembered some of her songs after so long. "Yeah they made me change them a little and it made them a lot better so hey, I'm not complaining."

"I don't know I'd say they were pretty good before." Santana said in a softer voice, her gaze locked on her feet.

"Santana Lopez, is that a compliment I hear?" Dani teased trying to draw a reaction out of her.

"Take it as you wish." The Latina lifted her head and smiled at how quickly they had fallen back into being comfortable with each other.

Dani smiled back then redirected the conversation. "What was your favorite song?"

"I was actually waiting for you to ask me that. I have a bias towards all of them but I think it was the second to last one you sang." Her voice unsure of the answer.

"What'd it sound like? I don't even know my own setlist it's kind of sad."

"Well something like..." Santana mentally took a deep breath and sang the chorus back to Dani. _Tell me you want me, speechless and I'm shaking. Tell me you need me, you better believe me when I say that you are my weakness._

"Oh!" The blonde recognized the song with the first three words but let Santana finish to hear more of her voice. "My Weakness. Yeah...I actually wasn't gonna perform that song tonight but we decided to last minute." She started to talk quicker than before, the nerves getting to her.

The taller girl furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Dani quizzically. "Why wouldn't you perform it? It's really cute and catchy."

"Well because I wrote it for...um..." She looked down and played with her fingers while finding the courage to finish her thought. "you," the word fell softly from her lips. After looking back up she saw the shock in the other girl's eyes and began to speed talk. "I mean it was a while ago that I wrote it but I haven't performed it live until tonight because I- I don't know but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable you know how I write my emotions into lyrics and I'm—"

Santana stepped forward and cupped the girl's face, pressing her lips gently but firmly to Dani's, cutting her off. "I know." She replied after pulling back and resting their foreheads together.

Dani's heart jumped at the feeling of having the other girl's lips on hers. She beamed back at the girl in front of her. The kiss left her in a daze and she barely noticed the rate of her heart escalate.

Santana smiled brightly at the lighter Latina and was lost in the brown of her eyes the second their eyes locked. A breath caught in the back of her throat when she realized she just kissed her ex-girlfriend. Her now famous ex-girlfriend and left her four years ago ex-girlfriend. She pulled away abruptly, shock covering her own face after realizing her own actions. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, someone beat her to it.

"Dani! It's time to go, they have to pack this all up!" Samantha yelled in the girls' direction.

The blonde hesitantly turned and began to walk away. "I'll call you?" She suggested, looking over her shoulder at the girl she left in shock. She knew they needed to talk about the kiss. They couldn't ignore it and Dani knew she definitely couldn't ignore the butterflies that never once left her stomach while she talked to Santana again.

Santana nodded, her heart swelling at the fact that after all these years Dani still had her phone number. John came over and led her out from backstage back to the sidewalk. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Santana." He turned and started to walk away and said just loud enough in hopes that the brunette might hear him, "Although I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you."

The next day, Santana woke up in a much similar condition as she had fallen asleep. She couldn't take her mind off how kissing her ex-girlfriend felt. The butterflies still hadn't entirely faded from the pit of her stomach since she heard the blonde's voice in the coffee shop. She had walked home after the concert last night and started to go through it in her head all over again

_Turning and walking to her car Santana heard Dani's bodyguard say something under his breath. She glanced over her shoulder but he was already too far away to check and see what he said. It was probably meaningless anyway, the Latina thought to herself before heading in the direction of her apartment._

_She twisted the key and walked through the doorway before shutting it and eventually making her way to the bedroom. She allowed her legs to hit the bed and fell back onto it, sighing when she hit the comforter. Why did she have to kiss Dani? It only left her more confused than she was after talking to the blonde that morning. They had fallen right back into the slight teasing and hidden smiles. Santana couldn't help but miss her. _

_The thoughts swirled around her head until she slowly started drifting off to sleep. She didn't bother changing or getting ready for bed. All she had the energy to do at that point was sleep so the thoughts would cease for a few hours. _

A loud knock pulled the Latina out of her daydream and she sat up. She groaned standing up from her bed and walked over to the bathroom to check her reflection quickly. Once she was content with her appearance she went and opened the door. However, the last thing she expected was to see the girl standing on the other side.

"Dani?" The taller girl almost whispered out of shock. The blonde only looked down to her feet in response.

Santana stepped aside to let the shorter girl into her apartment. She watched as the blonde walked over to her couch, head hanging a little lower than it should in order for the girl to be happy. Santana followed and took the spot next to her.

"Why're you here, Dani?" The Latina turned to face her and folded her legs under herself.

The lighter Latina bit her lip while keeping her eyes locked on the hands in her lap. "I-I," she hesitated nervously, "I couldn't stop thinking about how you kissed me yesterday. And I just kinda hoped you hadn't moved. I know I said I would call you but," she trailed off.

Realization washed over Santana's face. "I um kind of haven't been able to either," she stated quietly.

The two sat in silence for a moment before the taller girl moved her hand to gently lift Dani's head.

"Look at me," the Latina requested and waited for their eyes to lock onto each other. The second they did, she continued. "I don't know how you feel about me kissing you but I did it for a reason. Even after all these years you managed to get my heart to skip beats and take my breath away. It was like we first met when you walked into the coffee shop yesterday. I kissed you because I wanted to see if we still had that spark." She saw the nervous and worried expression in the blondes face soften. "I missed you. I've spent four years trying to get over you and everything we were. It worked for about 6 months and then I realized I was only lying to myself and hiding behind random hookups and a whole lot of wine."

Dani's heart broke hearing how badly she left Santana. The girl had been a mess because of her and resorted to self-medicating just to escape the pain of their break up. However, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't at least thought about doing the exact same.

"I don't think I ever stopped loving you, Dani. And I know this is all so much to take in and I'm sorry but I need to tell you before you leave me again. You're the only person capable of making me stutter. The only person I've felt comfortable with enough to be emotionally vulnerable. I fell so hard and so fast for you that it kind of blindsided me. I had never felt that before but damn was it the best reason to be terrified. I love you. I've always loved you and I always will love you. So I know you probably don't feel the same way because you've probably moved on with some gorgeous LA girl and that's okay I just—"

Santana was cut off without warning. She felt Dani's lips move beautifully against hers like they had since the day they met. The kiss was brief and she had to bit the inside of her cheek to fight back her whimper at the loss of contact.

"I've missed you so much, San. I don't know why you think I've moved on. I loved you more than I ever thought was possible. I fell hard for you, just as quickly as you did and it took my breath away. I was scared but not too badly because I knew together we could take on the world. It killed me leaving you. My manager had to help me get to a point where I wouldn't tear up at the mention of love. Yeah, I've tried dating people since we broke up, but not one made my heart swell like you can. None of them ever made me feel like you did. Well like you do." She paused, taking Santana's hands in hers and squeezing gently. "I never stopped loving you either. I just couldn't bear to come back here and break you all over again. I didn't have the answers on how we could be together and I couldn't help but think you had moved on."

The darker Latina leaned forward capturing the girl's lips in a long sweet kiss. When they finally pulled apart, she spoke quietly. "So now what?"

Dani rested her forehead against the girl's in front of her and took a moment to think. They stayed in a comfortable silence until she started to answer. "I want to be with you San. I don't care how much work and compromise it takes. I can't let you go again."

"I think I like that plan," Santana said, her words seeping through the smile covering her face. She placed a hand on the girl's face and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

"God I missed this," Dani said her lips brushing against the Latina's with every letter before pecking the girl's lips once more.


	4. After the Concert

**I haven't been in the mood to write much lately and I've been so busy with school but I finally did so I hope you like itttt:)**

Santana pulled herself out of the blonde's arms and forced her mind back into functioning rationally. She knew she wanted to be with her no matter what but there wasn't a way for it to work last time, so what was different now?

Dani saw her thoughts flying a mile a minute but resisted the urge to reach out and grab her hand. "What's wrong, San," she asked, scanning the girl's face.

They sat through another short silence as Santana attempted to hold back the tears she felt welling up. She couldn't go through this break up again and she knew that. It broke her the first time but a second time? There was just no way. She shuffled words around her head until she decided on the right ones, but even then, she stuttered. "H-how are we going to do this Dani? I mean realistically? You still have the second half of your tour and you live 3,000 miles from New York. I d-don't think I can do that," in saying the last sentence, her voice cracked.

"I only have 11 more shows to my tour. And I know that sounds like a lot but when you do four a week it flies by. I um…could come back to New York City in three weeks and we could figure it out then? I know we need to work this out San but I just can't let you go again. It'll kill me. I mean it when I say I'll make it work," she trailed off unsure of how Santana would take what she wanted to say. "Can we just watch a movie right now? I-I just miss you."

Santana took in the insecure caramel eyes that belonged to the girl sitting in front of her. They _really_ needed to figure out how this relationship was going to work…but it could wait for now. "Sure, ba—Dani," the Latina caught herself.

Dani smiled hearing the word that almost fell from the darker girl's lips before getting up to go through her movies. She rummaged through them until she found the one she set out to find. _Safe Haven._ The two had seen the movie together in theaters when it first came out but also bought it later on and watched it together at least four times. It reminded her of when she ran away from home after her parents caught her and yelled at her. She had dyed her hair and struggled from bus to bus before finally scrapping up enough money to find a place to stay. She had wandered around the big city of New York from dump to dump trying to find a job anywhere she could. All these aspects brought back a very ugly past accompanied by bad memories. Dani remembered how every time they watched it, Santana was always comforting and gentle with her. The Latina would hold her and rub circles on the back of her hand. _That was the whole reason you watched it so many times dumbass, _Dani giggled to herself at her thought. It was true. It was also the reason why she was picking this movie right now.

As Santana watched the shorter girl turn back around after putting in the movie, she reached for the remote. She turned on the TV and fast-forwarded through the previews. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dani sitting on the other end of the couch. Without shifting her gaze from the screen, she teased her, "What are you doing sitting all the way over there you loser? Are you scared of me or something? We _did_ spend a year and a half dating ya know. Not to mention the fact that we've kissed like six times in the past two days." She finally looked over, only to see the shocked expression on the girl's face. This caused her to laugh which only made the blonde look down to her lap, embarrassed.

Dani opened and closed her mouth trying to formulate a response but no words came. Santana was right. Why was she getting shy all of a sudden? She had literally just kissed the girl a few minutes ago. After what felt like forever she looked up to meet the brunette's gaze.

When the lighter Latina's head lifted, Santana opened her arms and held them out in front of her. Dani beamed back at her, slightly blushing, and moved to lie next to her. Santana pressed play then set the remote down on the coffee table.

After only a couple minutes, they found themselves cuddled together with absolutely no spare room between their bodies. Dani's back was pressed against Santana's front and the brunette's head rested gently on the other girl's. Just as Dani remembered, Santana had their hands intertwined, rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

This is what Dani missed most. It wasn't the kisses, or the sex, or the homemade dinners. It was lying so impossibly close that there was no room for anything but the love they had for each other. She felt safe lying there. The Latina always made sure she knew she was protected and worthy of someone's love. Just cuddling with Santana made her feel whole…and that's when she remembered something she had refused for so long to forget.

"Hey San?" Dani's words were quiet and soft-spoken.

"Yeah beautiful?"

The blonde turned in the embrace so she was facing the darker Latina. "Do you remember that necklace you gave me?"

Santana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why she was bringing this up. "Of course I remember, but why?"

Dani's lips didn't move a centimeter to answer the girl's question. She simply pulled her hand from between them and reached under her shirt, pulling out a silver chain.

The second Santana saw it her eyes filled with tears. She clutched to her version of that necklace for days, weeks even, after Dani left. _You'll always have the other half to my heart,_ she flashed back to her thoughts the night they broke up and tears started running down her face.

The lighter Latina wiped the girl's cheeks before gently kissing them away. "Hey," she whispered, "hey don't cry baby." Without realizing what she said, she placed another kiss on her cheek then rested her hand there. "I never could bring myself to take it off. I mean I had to sometimes for promo reasons and stuff…but I wear it every concert. I have ever since you gave it to me."

Santana opened the eyes she had clenched shut, willing the tears to cease, and looked deep into the brown eyes before her. "I never took mine off either. I'm just not wearing it right now because I came straight from work." She then leaned forward and captured Dani's lips. She tilted her head a little to the right, deepening the kiss. Their lips moved against each other perfectly. Feeling the girl's tongue swipe across her bottom lip, she reluctantly pulled away. She knew they needed to take this slower than they both wanted to. Resting their foreheads together and keeping her hands on Dani's cheeks, she spoke softly. "I really missed this too."

Dani closed her eyes savoring the moment. The way their lips moved together like no time had lapsed at all, the perfect way their bodies fit together, how the other girl's voice comforted her so much that she felt like it encompassed her in warmth; she noticed it all and didn't allow herself to take a second for granted. "We should really figure this out," she mumbled just loud enough for the Latina to hear her.

"Do you want to finish the movie first?" Santana brushed her fingers through the blonde hair.

Dani drew her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I think we should talk about it now."

Santana sat up pulling the blonde with her. She watched as the girl put a small distance between them and turned to face her. Folding her legs underneath her, Santana did the same.

"So I guess we should start with the fact that you live on the opposite side of the country," Santana said with a sad laugh.

"Yeah I can see how that would be a bit of a problem," Dani paused to take a deep breath then continued. "I do have to stay in LA while I'm recording, but I can talk to Sam about all the time I'm not and I could come up here. I won't be recording for a while seeing as I'm just finishing up my tour."

The Latina nodded her head taking in every word. "Speaking of your tour, where's your next show?"

"Chicago," Dani trailed off, then spoke in a quieter voice, "tomorrow…"

"Dani! What are you doing here then? Don't you have to pack and leave?"

The blonde laughed at the girl's reaction and reached out to grab her hand. "I'm supposed to be doing that, yes. But I told Sam I was coming to see you and convinced her to pack everything for me. It took me promising I'd be on time for every show for the rest of the tour, but she finally agreed."

Santana immediately felt calmer as Dani rubbed the back of her hand. "Isn't New York to Chicago like a 12 hour drive? Shouldn't you have already left by now?"

"The buses left already. John stayed here so he could come with me tomorrow on my flight. I was going to go with them but I knew we needed to talk. I wasn't about to leave you again, Lopez."

With that last comment, the brunette smiled wider than she had in a while. "Okay, okay. So after your tour ends do you want to come back here if you can for a few days or something? I can just text you or call you in the meantime and maybe we can Skype if you aren't too tired?"

"I would love that," Dani said smiling. Her smile soon faded with what she needed to say next. "We can figure this all out as it goes. There's a lot of last minute stuff with me now, San. There's no way I can tell you this will be easy."

The Latina smirked, "well then it's a good thing I don't want easy, I want you."


	5. NYC Adventure

**It's been so long since I've had motivation to write but this chapter is suppperrr long so hopefully that makes up for it. I love you all for reading this. Seriously I'm the most inconsistent person and that would drive me crazy so thank you. As always, reviews are highly appreciated and I'm sorry for making you wait!**

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><p>Dani had been back on tour for several days now but Santana still found that every time she caught herself daydreaming at work, her mind was on the singer. They had shot texts back and forth throughout the time Dani was gone but their schedules conflicted a lot. Being a singer meant not much downtime but Santana understood the craziness and never held it against her. This between them had all fell back into place extremely quickly so the time apart was good for them.<p>

As the Latina walked into the coffee shop, she smiled at Sarah and continued into her office to set her stuff down. Deciding to push her paperwork off further, she went back to talk to her coworker.

"Hey Sarah," she said getting the girl's attention.

The strawberry blonde turned to face the taller girl. "Yeah?"

"Do you know when Dylan's getting here?"

Sarah shot over a questioning look, "Aren't you the one in charge of scheduling his shifts?"

The Latina's face washed over with her signature glare that people had sworn could turn them to stone and sassily replied. "Last time I checked that wasn't an answer to my question Strawberry Short Cake. Wanna try again?"

"I don't k—"

Before she could finish her sentence the man walked through the front door of the coffee shop.

"Right now. He's coming in right now," Sarah redirected her response with a smirk.

Santana rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her body. "I have my own two eyes thank you very much. Go do something useful with yourself because back sassing me is not in your job description." The Latina internally smiled at her quick wit but maintained the glare on her face.

Sarah quickly turned and scurried toward Dylan mumbling something that to Santana sounded along the lines of, "I want the good mood Santana back."

_The good mood Santana?_ She wondered to herself. Thinking back on the past year of being manager the revelation came to her. She usually was in a bad mood and if not, she was always sassy. Her boss liked her because she had no problem being assertive and that quality kept people in check. With Santana around, things got done efficiently. That was the real reason he promoted her to store manager.

Lately though, Santana hadn't been too sour. She still hated waking up early for work, and often woke up later than usual trusting Sarah with the morning rush, but the days were better. She realized she had been smiling more when customers would talk to her. She had been more lenient when Dylan asked for the day off last week to take his girlfriend out for her birthday and didn't make him work a shift to make up for it. So what changed this time?

The Latina pushed her thoughts back before they could run on much longer. She glanced up at the man walking through the front door and smiled before retreating to her office. Paper work and employee evaluations never failed to serve as a distraction from the thoughts clouding her mind. She pulled the drawer open and flipped through the files until she found the paper she was looking for. Her hatred towards this certain form always caused her to put it off until the absolute last minute. Production reports. Why the hell anyone needed to know that the coffee and food was being used properly was beyond her. It just seemed tedious and unnecessary, but since when did her opinion matter on the subject anyway? Santana scribbled names and numbers throughout the sheet and did the calculations to match. As usual, nothing was out of place and her employees hadn't stolen anything this week. She ran through the numbers one more ensuring that they were right, and then moved onto the next paper.

After a while, Santana checked her phone for the time. It was 8:30 in the morning and she felt like she had been filling out forms for hours already. _Today is going to be a long day,_ she thought to herself. Looking back, this proved to be true; but never in the way Santana expected it to be.

The brunette finally finished the paperwork due tomorrow morning and called it quits. Walking out to the front she spots a blonde sitting at bar talking to Sarah. The woman is wearing a loose sweatshirt and skinny jeans with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Santana walked towards the barstool a few seats away from the woman. Just as she sat down, the blonde shifted her gaze off of Sarah and turned. It was Dani…again.

"Are you gonna keep popping up here? Like do I need to check the security camera screens more often?" Santana was shocked but couldn't help the response the surprise drew out of her.

"Hi Dani it's so nice of you to cancel your interviews for the day to come up and see me what a great surprise!" Dani imitated the reaction she would've wanted from the Latina with a smirk.

Santana groaned at this and rolled her eyes simultaneously. "Hello Danielle. I've missed you oh so much for the past, what, week since I've seen you? You look absolutely stunning in that oversized sweatshirt of yours." She knew she was more than happy to see Dani; the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach never failed to remind her of that. She also couldn't exactly say that the comment about the sweatshirt was untrue; the woman looked beautiful no matter what.

Sarah looked on with a wide smile as she watched them banter back and forth. Santana was teasing Dani just like Dani had with Santana moments before. There was a strange familiarity between her boss and the superstar who sat in front of her, but it was fascinating.

"Oh shut up, you used to love when I wore sweatshirts." Dani stood up so she could playfully hit Santana's arm.

"Used to?" Sarah couldn't help but interject. She wanted to know how her boss of all people knew Dani, who she had seen on TV all the time.

Santana was the first to reply. "Did I ask you to be a part of our conversation Sarah? I'm also pretty sure I'm not paying you to stand here and talk to me."

Dani reached out and placed her hand on the brunette's arm, squeezing it gently. "Don't yell at the poor girl for being curious." She then turned her attention to the strawberry blonde. "I met Santana before I got signed. We actually dated for a while," she turned back to the woman next to her, "didn't we San?"

To what Santana could tell was a rhetorical question, she rolled her eyes.

Dani stifled her laugh and continued. "So you're probably wondering why I'm back if we broke up right?" She watched the girl before her nod then began to answer her. "See, I messed something really good up with this whole becoming famous record deal thing," she paused lifting her hand off the brunette's arm to signal Sarah to move closer. Dani whispered the next part of the explanation but made sure Santana could still hear it. "I actually was willing to stay in New York but Santana made me go to LA so this technically isn't my fault but we don't bring that up." As she finished she shot the Latina a playful smile and a wink and wrapped up the explanation. "So now I'm here wondering if she'll go on a date with me today after she gets off work," this she said directed to Sarah but locked her eyes with Santana's for every word.

Sarah cut in again before her boss could answer. "Hold on a second, Santana you dated Dani fucking Harper and didn't think to tell me? We've worked together for almost two whole years and not once did you think to mention it?" The words fell from her mouth a little more angrily than she intended but she blamed it on the shocking news she had just become aware of. "Even after I asked you to take a day off to go see her in concert? Really?"

Santana couldn't help but let out a loud laugh hearing the girl's frustration. "Maybe I didn't know if I could trust you not to sell everything I said to the press? She is famous ya know I'm not about to go blabbing my mouth about the relationship we had to my coworker."

"Whatever," the girl mumbled and stormed off into the break room.

This caused both Santana and Dani to burst out laughing. After the laughter of the two died down, Dani faced the woman and asked her question again. "So will you go on a date with me tonight miss Santana Lopez?"

"Of course I will," she said with a smile plastered on her face.

Dani returned the smile happily and extended her hand. "Can I get a proper hello now?"

Santana accepted the outstretched hand and stood up pulling the blonde closer until they were separated by only a few inches. She glanced around making sure no one noticed them for Dani's sake, and then leaned down to press a soft chaste kiss to the woman's lips. "Better?"

"Mmm much better."

"So are you gonna tell me where this date is happening?"

Dani pulled away and leaned back against the counter. "I'm not answering that," she said with a determined look.

Santana opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. When the shorter woman had that look on her face, there was no changing her mind. "I work for another three hours but after that I'm all yours."

"Three whole hours?" Dani's smile dropped.

The darker Latina reached forward and grabbed Dani's hand, leading her back to her office. She shut the door behind them and reluctantly let go.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I thought it would be better for you if we talked where no one could hear us. I don't want to be the reason there's a cover story on Star Magazine about you," Santana stated plainly.

The shorter woman pulled her into a tight hug. "Aww San that's really thoughtful of you but honestly I don't care what they write about me," her lips brushing against the woman's neck with every word.

Santana lifted her hand to run it through her blonde hair. They stood like that for a couple minutes before Dani slowly pulled back.

"I guess I should leave and not distract you from your work," she glanced back at the desk behind her, "it looks like you have a lot to do."

"What are you going to do while I'm here? Hang out with John?"

She knew Santana was joking but that was really her best option at the moment. "I mean…yeah that's kind of the plan. I'm trying to lay low and make everyone think I'm on my way to Atlanta for the concert tomorrow."

This caught Santana off-guard to say the least. The singer was constantly busy and always had somewhere to be, but now the roles were reversed. "Why don't you just stay here and keep me company then," she asked hesitantly. She wouldn't get much work done with Dani here that she knew. However, she didn't want her to be stuck in New York with no one except her body guard to keep her company. "You can tell John to come inside and hang out with Dylan or something too. I wish I could take off work for the rest of the day but these hooligans need someone to make sure they don't burn the place down."

Dani giggled at the nickname the taller woman gave her coworkers. "You're sweet San but seriously, I'll be fine. Call me when you're off work okay?" She stepped forward leaning up a little to peck Santana's cheek. "I'll see you later," the blonde whispered and walked out the office door. Santana followed the woman with her eyes and saw her flip her hood over her head in an attempt to not be recognized.

Santana looked towards her desk at the piles of work she needed to finish. Now that Dani had left she wouldn't be distracting her from paperwork, but seeing as all she could think about was their date tonight, maybe she wouldn't get much done after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_15 minutes._ There was only 15 minutes left until noon when she could leave work for the rest of the day. Right after Dani left had proved to be hard to concentrate on pretty much anything except the singer. After that though, Santana fell back into her work mindset and quickly finished filling out and completing at least half her work. But now that there was only 15 minutes left, time seemed to be crawling at a snail's pace.

The element of surprise only further extended how long it felt. The Latina was excited for her first date with who she always considered the love of her life but not knowing any of what the plan was for it made it that much more intriguing. Santana clicked a button on her phone and checked the time again. Only five minutes had passed.

"Fuck it," she mumbled under her breath and pulled her jacket over her shoulders. She grabbed her purse and checked herself in the mirror for the second time. Walking out of her office, she called over to Sarah to tell her she was leaving a few minutes early.

"Sounds good, boss. I promise I can keep the shop standing for the next 10 minutes while you're on your date with that famous didn't-think-Sarah-had-the-right-to-know-about girl of yours."

A smile spread across Santana's face knowing the girl would never let her live this down. "Bye Sarah," she shouted behind her, the words coated in laughter. The door to the coffee shop shut behind her as she reached for her phone.

"Dani where the hell are we going?" Santana was looking out the window at the graffiti covered walls they had started to pass by. The sun was setting now and the area at dusk didn't exactly instil confidence in her.

The singer had insisted that she was fully capable of driving but in the end John won. He was sitting in the front of the car focused solely on the road ahead of him while the two women sat in the back holding hands. "It's part of the surprise San stop asking questions."

"Getting mugged and killed isn't a surprise I want to experience, if we're being honest here."

Dani laughed at the brunette and looked over at her. She could see the curiosity and hint of fear in the brown eyes looking back at her. "I promise you'll survive our date you loser. Have a little sense of adventure would ya?" Although Dani was teasing the woman, she squeezed her hand in an attempt to comfort her.

Santana decided against protesting again and scooted closer to Dani. She leaned down resting her head on the shorter woman's shoulder and sighed deeply. The mere proximity was enough to calm her mind from all the worries that kept appearing.

No more than a minute or two later, John stopped the car and got out to open the door. "Here we are Miss Harper."

The lighter Latina rolled her eyes playfully. "How many times do I have to tell you—"

"Don't call you Miss Harper, call you Dani. I know. It just feels more professional."

At this Dani rolled her eyes and reached out for Santana's hand. "I'll tell you when to pick us up," the blonde shouted to John over her shoulder as she led Santana toward an old run down building.

The building was clearly run down and abandoned. Santana looked up and saw the faded sign read, Nelson's Ice Cream. Most of the letters were barely legible and even the brick itself was faded from red to a dull brownish-gray. The shop was small, almost hidden away between the tall apartment complexes and skyscrapers that New York City holds. As Dani opened the door it creaked and groaned, as if it hadn't been unbolted in years.

"Dani what the hell are we doing here?"

To this, Dani only giggled. She found it fun seeing Santana show her fear. She knew the woman was scared of things, but she very rarely let anyone know. Dani had learned over the years to notice the small signs Santana displayed when the woman was scared or hurt, but she was one of the only exceptions.

Santana glared at the blonde who was still chuckling at her question. "Seriously D, why're we here?"

"What ice cream would you like?" The shorter woman asked like nothing was bizarre about their situation.

By now Dani had led the darker Latina further into the shop and up to a counter that could easily be seen as being previously used to store ice cream.

"Dani how wo—"

Before she could ask the rest of her question, Dani cut her off. "It's okay I already know your answer. Here," she handed the woman in front of her a cup with mint chocolate chip ice cream in it. Dani picked up her own cup with fudge chocolate ice cream and returned from behind the counter. She walked to a table in the corner of the shop and sat down giving Santana an expectant look to follow her lead.

The taller woman took the hint and walked in the same path Dani had, taking the seat across from her. She gave up wondering what they were doing in the abandoned shop and raised a spoonful of ice cream to her lips.

"We're here for our date you loser. What else would we be here for?" Finally Dani answered the question from almost five minutes ago.

"Where is here…exactly?"

The blonde wrapped her lips around the spoon and swallowed before replying. "It's this old abandoned ice cream shop," she said while her eyes took in the room surrounding her. "Samantha suggested to shoot one of my music videos here so we came and checked it out. We found a better place later but I've come back here almost every time I've come back to New York." Santana's eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted as if to silently ask why. "It gives me space to think. Like an escape to be free from the constant pressure to look good for paparazzi pictures, ya know?"

"So why did you bring me here then? Why not go somewhere else for a date if this is your sanctuary here?" This all still didn't make sense to Santana. She felt like she had some of the pieces to the answer but was missing the most important one.

"When we were together I wasn't famous. You didn't have to deal with being followed around and neither did I," the blonde sighed thinking about the chaos that came with being a well-known singer. People never left her alone anymore. "Being with you reminds me of being here because just like I feel free of the pressure here, I feel like you don't care about anything besides me being myself; the girl you knew when we met. And that makes me feel comfortable and like I don't have to live up to any expectations,"

Santana's lips curled into a wide smile at the woman's admission. "Some first date conversation, huh," she teased. But the truth is she could never talk about superficial 'first date' kind of things with Dani. Even when they dated the first time the two felt so comfortable with each other that they skipped that step. It was terrifying, but rewardingly so. After a second she added, "I'm glad you feel like I don't want you to be anyone but yourself because I don't. I know how hard wearing that mask can be and I've never wanted you to have to around me."

The two women fell easily into conversation while they finished their ice cream. Santana would make a joke resulting in Dani letting out a loud laugh then the next minute the roles would be reversed. Their interaction was always considerably balanced. They would banter and tease each other back and forth in the most natural way possible. They, as Rachel had put it all those years ago, complimented one another perfectly.

They had been sitting at the table talking and eating for almost an hour when Dani broke the flow of the conversation. "Hey I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, okay?"

Santana nodded and followed the blonde with her eyes as she got up. The woman leaned down and softly kissed her cheek then walked across the room and turned down a hallway.

The Latina waited for a few minutes before she started to get worried. Dani hadn't even left the building and she was still paranoid because of the area of the city they were in. She decided to stay and give the woman another minute or two before going to check on her.

Taking out her phone, Santana saw that she had two unread texts.

**From: Rachel**

**"Hello Santana. Kurt and I were wondering if you would like to go out with us to Callbacks this Friday and show these new NYADA kids up. Text me back whenever you have time. Love you!"**

The text caused Santana's smile to spread further across her face. Rachel used to be one of the girls she hated most in high school and now they acted like sisters. A lot had changed between the two and whether Santana liked to admit it or not, the majority of it has to do with the fact that she's comfortable with who she is now. She quickly typed out a reply and sent it.

**To: Rachel**

**"You know how much I love putting people in their place, Rach. Count me in!"**

She was about to check the other unread text message she had when, all of a sudden, she felt someone pinch right above her hips and yell, "BOO!"

Santana screamed and jumped out of her seat so she could turn and see who it was. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a familiar blonde standing behind her wearing a smirk on her lips. "I'm so gonna fucking get you for that Danielle."

When Dani realized the woman in front of her wasn't softening her expression, her smile dropped from her face. Santana lunged at the blonde causing her to spin on her heels and run away. Once Dani reached the other side of the room she realized she only had one more step and then Santana would have her cornered. With the brunette close behind her, she raced to the counter and jumped behind it. The darker Latina was less than a step behind and stopped when she reached the counter, not being able to go further. The two faced each other separated only by the counter, bouncing back and forth trying to predict which way the other would go. Finally, Santana decided to go around the object to the left and quickly sprinted around the side. Dani reacted almost immediately and ran the opposite direction. Before the blonde could turn the corner, she felt a hand wrap around her forearm and pull her back. She squealed as her body changed direction and rotated, colliding with the taller woman's. She felt arms snake around her waist and pull her impossibly closer. Santana's determined expression faded into a loving smile as she looked down at the woman who was in her arms.

"I've missed you," she breathed out.

Dani beamed back at the taller girl and pecked her lips before suddenly wiggling out of the woman's arms and grabbing her hand. "Come on an adventure with me," she said, giving no room for argument.

Santana allowed herself to be led back out of the ice cream shop and down the street. It was completely dark outside now and the shadows the abandoned buildings cast counteracted whatever good the dull street lamps were. If Santana was scared before, this was something entirely different. The space in front of her looked like a scene from a movie—and not a good one either. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts and focus solely on the woman who had now laced their fingers together.

They walked down the street in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Although they were walking at a leisurely pace, they had still made it quite a while away from the ice cream shop.

"Dani?" Santana broke the silence, turning her head to face the woman next to her.

"Yes?"

The brunette shifted her gaze to look back at the alley ahead of them. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. That's kind of the whole point of an adventure, isn't it? Dani quirked her eyebrow and quickly changed direction to head towards what looked like an old apartment complex. The building was around five stories high and looked like it could fall with a strong enough wind. That, however, didn't change Dani's mind at all. They were going to the very top whether Santana liked it or not.

The inside walls of the building were covered in graffiti and there were cigarette buds littered all over the tiled floor.

"You're gonna get us killed Dani I swear," Santana mumbled under her breath.

"Well if we do die up here—even though we won't—won't it be worth it? Live a little San," the shorter woman encouraged without a shred of doubt in her words. "You can't go through life being scared even of things and places you should be scared of. There's value in everything."

Santana let the words wash over her as she absorbed them all. "Becoming a singer has made you into quite the philosopher," she teased, drawing a playful smirk out of Dani.

"It's not even that, shut up," she shot back. "It's just…needing to escape from paparazzi, I've found a lot of cool places like this. And they've been where I've found the most inspiration to write," at this point they had started to climb the flights of stairs that undoubtedly led to the roof. "Life is just one big adventure and if you don't live out of your comfort zone then you won't experience some of the coolest things out there."

"You're amazing, you know that right?" The taller woman said looking over at Dani.

The lighter Latina glanced over too but quickly hid her face because of the blush that now covered her cheeks. "I guess so," she trailed off.

Santana closed the space between them and pressed her lips softly against the shorter woman's cheek. "You're cute when you blush," she stated which only darkened the pink tint. "I agree though. Life is a lot more fun outside of your comfort zone," she paused to look out over the sketchy neighborhood they had spent the past couple hours in. They had made it to the roof and walked to the middle by the time she continued, "but it's a lot more fun if you have someone to go on the adventure with you."

Dani, shocked at the words the brunette had just said, looked away from the skyline and locked their gaze. No words had to be spoken between them to know what they were both thinking. Dani unclasped their hands and pulled the darker Latina closer by wrapping her arms around her neck. She leaned in and brushed their lips together.

Santana gently placed her hands on the blonde's waist and deepened the kiss. She felt Dani's hands comb through her hair and push their lips closer. Right as the shorter woman's tongue ran across her bottom lip, a loud, metallic-sounding crash came from the floors below.

The sound caused Dani to jump back, fear written all over her face. "Maybe I should, uh, call John to pick us up now," she stuttered, her words stumbling over one another.

Santana, although she too was startled by the crash, giggled to herself before smirking at the woman standing in front of her. "Who's the scared one now?"


	6. Concert Day

**This chapter was hard to write the past week cause I may or may not have pinched a nerve in my wrist...lol...but it's all good. I figured it out. I hope you like it even if it may or may not end on a sort of cliffhanger...welp. Tell me what you think:)**

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><p>The commotion swirled around Dani as people rushed from one point to another. She should be used to the process by now, but she was still taken aback by all the work put into a single concert. The singer still had an hour before sound check started and the stadium crew was already setting things up that wouldn't be used until the show itself started.<p>

The blonde was standing watching them before she needed to go to get her makeup done. People passing her carried cords and wires while some dragged rolling black cases behind them. The amount of people necessary for her to share her music with her fans was astounding compared to how she used to think of the procedure. Her mind then traveled back to her first time performing in front of any type of audience.

_Dani swallowed thickly as she walked through the doors to the dinner. Today was the day that Gunther had asked her to sing when the customers requested. She had only been working at the diner a week so he gave her a chance to get comfortable around her coworkers and settle in. But today, she had no excuse. 'Maybe no one will ask me to sing,' she thought to herself as she put her coat and guitar down in the back room. _

_Less than 20 minutes into her shift a guy she had served called her over. _

_"Can I help you with anything," she asked innocently and professionally._

_He looked past her at a woman with auburn hair who was sitting at a booth with who looked like her best friend. "Can you sing? Like, isn't that what you do here," he requested shyly._

_Dani glanced over her shoulder following his line of sight and smiled when she saw the woman. "Of course. What song?"_

_"Chelsea," he replied firmly. His gaze snapped back to meet hers with a smile as he waited for her approval._

_"Chelsea," she trailed off scanning her brain for the song title. "Oh! Chelsea by The Summer Set?"_

_He grinned and nodded thanking her for doing this for him. _

_The blonde was happy to oblige and before walking too far she turned back. "Is it alright if it's an acoustic version? I know it on guitar," she paused then quickly interjected before he could answer her, "I mean I can always play the track but I just thought I'd ask."_

_"No, no go for it. Acoustic is more personal." She smiled at his answer and hurried to the back room to grab her guitar._

_On the way out she saw Rachel and stopped to ramble nervously. She wasted no time in allowing her thoughts to spill. "What if I mess it up? Rachel I need you to sing it with me please," she spoke quickly, the words almost crashing into one another._

_"Whoa Dani calm down. You'll be fine," the brunette rested her hand on the girl's arm. "I can't sing with you because I have to rest my voice for my Fanny Girl audition, but I have an idea. Go up there and I'll find someone to join you." _

_Dani thanked the girl and rushed up to the stage. She was confident in her voice and her ability to sing and play the song. It was the unfamiliarity of the situation that scared her. Not only had she only worked at the diner a week, but she had no idea what she needed to do to set up her guitar's amplifier or anything. Stepping onto the stage, a coworker of hers followed suit. She had worked with him once in the past week and didn't even remember his name._

_"You need help with your guitar," he asked, his voice deeper and smoother than she expected._

_"Yes please," she replied with an ashamed laugh and a light blush on her cheeks. "I have no idea what I'm doing."_

_"No worries," he flashed her a smile then reached out for the guitar in her hands._

_After a couple minutes of carefully watching him untangle cords and plug them into various sockets, he handed her back the instrument. _

_"All set. I doubt you'll need a mic with how few people are in here so you're good to go."_

_"Thanks," she watched as he descended the stairs and went back to work. Looking up, she made eye contact with the man who requested the song and cracked a smile. She carefully placed her fingers on the correct strings and took a deep breath._

**_"Let's take this back 2005, Drinks are pouring and girls so fine," _**_she pulled her eyes off of her fingers and looked around the restaurant. Some people were paying attention while others were carrying on their conversations just as before. __**"So many dimes got dollars signs, and there she goes, right on the spot," **__Just as she was about to drop her gaze back to her fingers to switch chords, her eyes met with a certain Latina's she met the first day of work. Santana. She moved her fingers praying she wouldn't miss a string and beamed back at the girl who she had come to like, __**"Gotta taste so sweet I swear this beat will make you want to drop."**_

**_"She wears a new dress every day," _**_Dani saw Rachel walk up to the girl and whisper something in her ear that caused Santana to smile. The Latina nodded then shifted a burning gaze back at the blonde singing. __**"No she won't stop makin' the crowd scream," **__Dani looked back down to her guitar to focus on the chords. __**"I can't hear anything. But hey, it's Miss L.A. again, again."**_

**_"Chelsea, Chelsea, tell me you love me." _**_She lifted her eyes only to see if the man had gotten up to talk to the auburn hair woman yet. When she saw that he was still looking at her longingly, she pressed on. __**"Chelsea, Chelsea, are you feeling me now? Chelsea, Chelsea, I think it's 'bout time we get down, get down. I wanted more."**_

_What caught Dani off guard was the voice that followed into the next verse of the song. She looked up from her instrument and saw Santana leaning against the wall singing the words. __**"I wrote her a song; Not Delilah, not Kelsey. Got 'em both in my palm, but I'd drop them for Chelsea."**_

_She continued and pushed herself off the wall as the words continued to fall from her lips. __**"Hey, hey what'd you say? You've been lookin' good today," **__the Latina had now made her way up to the bottom of the stairs, her eyes locked on Dani's the entire time. __**"Let's go around the town and tell, the girls that I'm taken."**_

_Dani beamed back at the girl then shyly dropped her head in an attempt to hide the pint tint she felt covering her cheeks. The two of them sang the chorus together.__** "Chelsea, Chelsea, tell me you love me. Chelsea, Chelsea, are you feeling me now? Chelsea, Chelsea, I think it's 'bout time we get down, get down.**_ **_There ain't no stopping us now, get down, get down. I wanted more."_**

Dani shook her head as she came back to the present time and smiled to herself. That was the second song her and Santana had ever sang together. It was also the beginning of a long career of singing on the diner stage and figuring out the kind of artist she wanted to be. Without her coworker, she would've had to learn how to set up her guitar on her own. Without that job, she may not be where she is now.

Lost in another trance, she didn't notice the addition to the people rushing around her. Thankfully, she was pulled out by an all too familiar voice…

"Dani!" Santana shouted excitedly, even though no one around them was making enough noise to require it.

The blonde's head shot up, looking for the source of the exclamation. When her eyes landed on Santana, she couldn't help but run towards her like a little girl in an airport. "Santana!" She shouted back as she jumped into the woman's arms catching her off balance, causing her to stumble backwards a little.

"Well hello to you too," the brunette chuckled, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around the singer.

Dani finally pulled back but remained standing less than a foot in front of the taller woman. "I thought you weren't gonna be here until after sound check?"

"You're not the only one who knows how to pull off a surprise, ya know."

Squinting her eyes into what ended up a playful glare, Dani slapped Santana's arm. "Let me have my surprises, okay? That's my thing go find your own," she pouted, again, like a little girl.

"You're such a two year old sometimes, I swear. I don't know how Samantha puts up with you all day every day," Santana teased, knowing it would set off her defensive side.

"Santana Lopez you better watch your mouth before I kick you out of here and throw you to the savages outside the gates."

The brunette's eyebrows rose at the mention of the woman's fans. "Those poor people kill themselves to support you and buy your shit and that's how you refer to them? Damn, maybe I will leave." The two both knew they were messing with each other and biting back smiles.

"Well I guess you can leave now then. John!" Dani yelled, dragging out the name then threw an evil smirk in the taller Latina's direction.

"Oh no you didn't," Santana glared. She turned briefly to see the singer's bodyguard approaching. "John don't listen to her she's just being stupid. Don't let her disrupt your routine or whatever is going on right now." Giving Santana a skeptical look, the man turned around and went back to doing his job, stationed somewhere out of sight.

"Excuse you, he works for me, not you. You don't get to tell him what to do." Dani stepped closer to the taller woman, leaving a couple feet of distance between them.

Santana ran her eyes over the smirk that graced the blonde's lips and felt her breath catch in her throat. She quickly moved her gaze back up to see Dani's searing glare. Without giving the shorter woman any warning, she closed the space between them and connected their lips. The kiss was short but lingered as Santana was slow to pull away.

"You should've started with that," Dani beamed at her leaning up to peck her lips.

"I—"

"Danielle can I see you for a second?" Samantha cut in just as Santana was going to talk.

The lighter Latina rolled her eyes and mumbled, "always fucking interrupting us," below her breath before walking away from Santana.

She reached Samantha who was standing in the opening of a doorway. Dani peaked around her manager and saw that it was a storage room but had been converted into a sort of backstage lounge for the crew. Before she had a chance to admire the work put into the room, probably by the crew themselves over the years, Samantha pulled her inside and shut the door behind them.

"What the hell Sam? Why'd you pull me away from Santana? You know I don't have much time with her so this better be important."

The woman sighed, her facial features softening from the stern look they held prior. "I need to talk to you about Santana actually."

Dani's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Wait what?"

"I'm worried about you Dani. I know you've been in love with her forever and even despite whatever dating you did after the two of you broke up. Don't tell me I don't know that because I do. But for Christ sakes you just started talking to her again two weeks ago. You're acting like nothing ever happened and that worries me. Nothing has changed since you broke up with her. You live in LA. You travel the world as a singer and she lives in New York City. If you couldn't make it work back then, what's so different now?"

The blonde sat speechless for a minute, letting the thoughts soak in. The question rang through her mind. To her it sounded much like the question she asked Santana the night they broke up. _How was it going to be okay? _The answer to both: it wasn't. "Nothing's different, Sam, about the situation at least. But you saw how much of a mess leaving her made me. All I had to do was run into her again and have a five minute conversation to void all progress I made on not thinking about her. You've worked through hell trying to help me move on from her and I'm so grateful you've been here for me. But I'm not willing to give up this time, that's what's different."

The determination in the blonde's voice struck something deep in her, causing her to realize there was no way she would convince her of anything. "I'm just worried. I believe in both your abilities to make this work but it's my job to be the voice of reason in your head. I just don't want you heartbroken again. Santana seems like a sweet girl and I trust your judgment on her but it's still been four years. I don't think jumping back into this relationship as quickly as you have is smart." Taking a deep breath, she reached out for Dani's hand showing her the words she said were spoken out of love. "I'm never going to tell you who you should or shouldn't date. That's not my job. I only think you should slow down and allow the two of you to grow back together after all this time apart, okay?"

The singer sighed, knowing that her manager was right. They had jumped back into each other's company far too quickly. If anything, now the relationship would be harder due to how famous she had become and all the attention and pressure that came with it. "Thank you Sam," she paused lifting her gaze that had fallen on her lap halfway through. "for looking out for me and everything. It's really not your job but you do it anyway. I feel like I'm on tour with my older sister or something."

Both women laughed softly at the admission. "Come here you," Samantha pulled on the shorter girl's hand, moving her closer. She wrapped the singer in a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I'm here for you, all right?"

Dani nodded and pulled away from the hug. "Thanks again, Sam," she smiled warmly.

"Oh and one last thing, Dani…"

The singer turned back before getting to far away. "Yeah?"

"You might want to tone down the whole relationship dating thing even backstage. The crew are the only people back here but you know how rumors can start from anyone."

Dani nodded and scrunched her face in annoyance. "Yeah…that might be a good idea," her voice trailed off, the realization leaving her slightly upset.

"Go back out there and woo your girl with all your fancy rich people things, sis," Samantha teased nudging the blonde in the direction of the door.

"Oh make fun of me being cute with you some more why don't ya?" Dani shouted over her shoulder then opened the door to find Santana.

Once Dani stepped through the doorway, Santana's head shot up from where she stood. The movement had caught her eye as she was leaning against the wall waiting for the shorter woman. Unsure if she wanted to talk after what sounded like an important conversation, Santana waited for the blonde to approach her.

Sure enough, Dani saw the darker Latina almost immediately and set off in her direction. She half forced a smile onto her face directed towards the woman. "Hey, sorry about that. I wasn't expecting to get pulled away or anything like that today. You want me to give you the fancy backstage tour?" Her voice bounced back to its usual happy tone.

Santana nodded along understandingly. "I would actually love that. Getting to know how this all works is really cool."

"Follow me," the blonde began to extend her hand out then quickly withdrew it. Remembering what Samantha said, she crossed her arms instead and motioned with her head for Santana to follow her. "Honestly, the entire thing was pretty shocking to me at the beginning too so I'm glad I'm the one who gets to show you."

The darker Latina noticed the quick shift in body language but decided it would be better to bring up later. She lightly bit the inside of her lip to prevent herself from smiling too big at Dani's last comment. "So…I know you get here early to do sound check and to meet some of your fans or whatever, but besides that, I have no real clue what goes on back here."

The two continued down the progressively narrowing hallway as the singer began to explain the process of setting up the stage for her shows. "I'm not here for the entire set up of the stage and the lights though. The crew at each venue usually starts that the night before, then gets here before me the day of to finish up." She glanced over at the taller girl beside her and saw her nodding along as she looked around. "But when I do get here, which is around nine if the show starts at seven, all I do is sit around watching people and eating food as they set up the mics."

Santana abruptly stopped taking in her surroundings to respond to what the woman previously mentioned. "Wait but if you just sit here in the morning, why don't you come in later?"

"Honestly, I probably could. But a part of me is fascinated by the process and effort that goes into each show."

"And the other part?" The brunette's eyebrows rose with the inflection of her voice.

"It gives me time to think, ya know? It's the same reason people go to the park and just sit on a bench to watch the world go by. The crazy rush around me of people just seems to blur out of focus if I sit there long enough. I tend to get lost in thought about something…sometimes it's music I'll sing in my head, sometimes just life decisions I need to make, sometimes just…" her voice trailed off leaving the last thing on the list unknown.

Santana's eyebrows drew together, yet again, because of Dani's strange behavior. She knew she should ask the blonde why she was acting so weirdly but, once more, chose to put it off until later. The woman wasn't telling her something but she needed to leave the choice up to Dani. "What's this room for?" The taller woman motioned towards a slightly cracked open door they were about to pass by.

Relief of the topic change flooded Dani's face. "This is the hair and make-up room. Wanna go in and meet everybody?"

With a nod from Santana, the singer pushed the door open and sauntered into the room with confidence. "Hey Sky, Em, Keaden this is Santana," she motioned to the woman who was now standing just a step behind her. "Santana, this is Skylar and Emilie, they do most of my make-up and hair. Then this is Keaden," she stepped forward leaning up to rest her arm on his shoulder, "who does my hair sometimes, especially when I want to dye it; and my wardrobe sometimes too."

Santana lifted her hand and waved. "Hi, it's nice to meet you all," she said politely.

The man next to Dani spoke up first. "She's polite, that's a nice surprise, Dan."

The singer shoved him playfully and mock slapped him. "Hey now, watch yourself Keaden. I'll get you fired so quick."

The dirty blonde who had her hair in a fishtail braid, Skylar, interjected next. "Oh please, Dani. We all know Samantha would kick your ass before you ever got around to firing him, or any of us for that matter."

Emilie, who was standing next to Skylar with her arms crossed, attempted to stifle her laugh. Dani scoffed at the two comments made by her friends and rolled her eyes finally allowing them to land on Santana. "Let's continue the tour and leave these losers alone to insult me and my life where I can't hear them," she said as she walked to the brunette's side, linking their arms together and continuing out the doorway.

"What was that all about?" The Santana asked as she allowed herself to be led further down the hallway. In the past five minutes, she had felt nothing but space between herself and Dani. The woman was being distant all of a sudden, but being linked together relieved some of her concern.

Dani rolled her eyes before answering. "They just like to tease me cause I mess with them all the time. It's innocent really; they're some of my best friends."

"Like Samantha's your best friend?"

They reached a door and the blonde reached her free hand out to push the handle. "Yeah…Sam knows me better than almost anyone else." She led the pair to a couch in what looked to Santana like the singer's dressing room.

As they sat down, Santana caught her gaze. "Almost anyone?"

"I-I uh.." she hesitated. "Um, yeah."

"Dani, why are you acting so weird with me all of a sudden? First, you pulled back from holding my hand. Then, you stopped when you were about to say something and now you won't even tell me this? I don't get it," Santana's face fell as she shook her head in confusion. Her once anger filled words leveled off. "Did I do something?"

The blonde's worry and minor panic coated her face. "No, no, of course not. It has nothing to do with you," she said softly, tilting her head down to focus on her lap.

Santana knew that look. Not the panic or worrying, but the shame. Dani was lying to her about it not being about her. "What did Samantha talk to you about?" After the question was thrown into the air, the lighter Latina's face only became more focused on the movement of her hands in her lap. "Dani, tell me," she paused to lean forward and lift the woman's head with her finger gently, "please?"

"She pulled me aside to talk about…you," Dani sighed. "Well," she rethought her wording, "more about us than about you…"

"What do you mean us? I wasn't really...aware there was an us," the brunette replied nervously. "I mean like…not yet at least."

Dani scooted closer to the woman and reached for her hand. Interlocking their fingers, she attempted to soothe her by rubbing over the back of her hand. "I know what you mean. But dating in the music industry practically means you're engaged. It's stupid but the media blows every little thing up. So she kinda needs to take that into consideration."

Santana nodded along realizing that a relationship with the singer now was going to be a hell of a lot different and more complicated. "So is that what Samantha talked to you about? Being more careful around people who might tell the tabloids?"

"Um…sort of." Seeing the questioning expression on Santana's face, she continued her explanation. "She did tell me that I shouldn't run up and hug you and kiss you like I did today even though we were backstage. I know I can't do that anywhere in public but I guess she doesn't really trust the crew. I can't blame her though; people will tell secrets around here for the right price without a second thought."

The brunette saw the flash of sadness in Dani's eyes that was paired with her breaking eye contact again. Even the woman's voice grew softer as she mentioned the lack of trust and loyalty of the people surrounding her. "I'm sorry, D," she apologized, feeling bad that Dani had to put up with such a vicious attitude. "That must be tough not knowing who you can talk to."

Dani briefly glanced up with a soft smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "I have a few amazing people I know I can trust, so it's okay."

At this, Santana smiled, glad that the singer had a release for all the pent up secrets. Whether she was one of those people Dani could trust yet or not, she was determined to become one.

"What Sam really pulled me aside to talk about though was more about me than you. She just wanted to make sure I um…know what I'm doing I guess is the way to put it."

"What do you mean, Dan?"

"She sees how quickly I'm coming back to you, Tana," Dani almost mumbled. " After all the heartache and tears she had to deal with when we broke up the first time, she wants to make sure I'm not throwing myself back into this too fast…"

Santana was about to respond but Dani cut her off.

"That's why I pulled back instead of holding your hand. It's why I stopped myself before telling you that lately I've been spending more time than I should sitting backstage before concerts thinking about you. Or how nice it would be to be in your arms again. How I haven't felt as loved or as beautiful in four fucking years because you haven't been the one to remind me. It's why I didn't tell you that although Samantha has become my best friend and someone I trust with my life, no one has or ever will know me better than you do."

The darker Latina pulled her hand out of Dani's and tugged her into a hug by her shoulders. The two allowed the hug to last a little longer than usual before Santana reluctantly pulled away. Her eyes quickly met the blonde's, preventing her from moving too far away. Her eyes flickered down to the woman's lips then met her eyes again. "Can I kiss you in here?" She tried to ask innocently, but truly knew the answer and only wanted the singer to tell her to.

Dani's eyes crinkled as her smile widened genuinely. "Yes stupid, you can," she giggled through her answer.

Santana felt her smile grow after hearing the heartwarming laugh of the woman in front of her. "Mmm, good." She searched the lighter Latina's eyes for any insecurity in her words, and then softly pressed their lips together. This kiss, she knew, meant something different after hearing the singer's admissions. It was softer and slower than any they had shared since they were reunited. She felt the need to show Dani how much she cared about and understood the woman's worries. After a several seconds, she pulled away. As she was about to reply to everything the singer just told her, a knock came from the door. The two women stayed close but leaned away from each other. The door opened almost immediately.

"Dani, sound check starts in 15 minutes we need you to get your make-up done. The rest can wait until after," Samantha informed her.

Dani looked towards Santana apologizing with her eyes before getting up. "Show her where to stand backstage," she whispered to Samantha quietly, and continued on, walking past her manager and down the hallway.


End file.
